Flourishing For All

Are you well known?

For what?

Never before in human history have so many people had as many opportunities via technology to be well known!

With posting pics and opinions via social media, we can garner likes and followers by the hundreds, even thousands! Videos can go viral, getting millions of hits. Embarrassing moments can get viewed by all your friends and many more strangers, and you can never fully erase it from the internet.

It seems like there is a strong temptation in our generation to be well known for the sake of being well known. It doesn’t really matter for what, it seems, anymore.

For those of us more sophisticated, we may want to use social media or our social network to become well known for our accomplishments at work or in the community, for the kind of vacations we take or hobbies we pursue, for our lifestyle or cute kids, our religious or political beliefs.

What was Jesus well known for? In the gospel Mark writes about how Jesus became well known among the people of Israel, and eventually the king. Word got around that Jesus was a very wise teacher, he used his miraculous powers to heal the sick and disabled in the villages, he was a compelling preacher, and a revered prophet.

Jesus was known for being a brilliant, courageous, talented man who leveraged his power and authority to compassionately heal and transform the lives of ordinary folks, particularly the poor and the oppressed.

When you are well known for loving the poor and empowering them to get back on their feet again, the government takes notice. In Jesus’ case, he confounded the people and those in positions of authority. Jesus didn’t use lies, violence, or coercion to make himself well known or to enrich his pockets, and he didn’t gain power in order to get appointed to positions of political authority.

Jesus courageously used his power to heal people, to call them to repentance, and to join the kingdom of God – a way of life marked by justice and peace, flourishing for all. And this gave him more power, not less.

But it also added to the confusion – people still had religious and political assumptions about Jesus that they just couldn’t let go of. Jesus was well known, though not always well understood or appreciated. That is how it always works.

The real danger is that there are those who profit from the injustices in our community. There are those who don’t want to be told that they are in the wrong, that they are oppressing the poor, that their ambitions and morals are an offense to the community and God.

Jesus and his cousin John the Baptist preached a message of repentance – return to the Lord, turn your life around, wash your sins away, be made clean in spirit, mind and body. And this got John beheaded and Jesus crucified.

There is great joy, though it may be mixed with great sorrow, of leveraging your talents, resources, and power to be good news to the community. The good news of the kingdom of God is for Israel and the world- God’s will is being done on earth as it is heaven through the body of Christ!

What is God’s will for humanity? That we all have enough bread for the day, that we forgive each other like God forgives us, and that we aren’t overcome by trials, but instead overcome evil with good.

This is the Lord’s prayer for us, that he taught to us, that he calls us to, and that he answers through us.

May this be what you become well known for.

Need some ideas?

Mentor youth. Volunteer at your local public school. Walk your neighborhood and be friendly. Exude hope.

Support local businesses. Slow down enough to really listen to what your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews really have to say. Give people a second chance.

Don’t be a jerk at work or in traffic. Let go of grudges quicker. Don’t buy so much stuff. Be faithful.

Eat real food. Vote. Befriend the homeless. Choose to be courageous when you feel afraid. Tip generously. Smile.

Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan is probably one of his most famous ones! It is vivid, provocative, and compelling. A quick recap: a man gets mugged and left for dead- a priest and temple-worker pass him on the other side as they travel along that same road. But a despised Samaritan comes riding by, sees the dying man, stops and gets off his donkey to help.

The speaker for our Good Friday Breakfast, Reggie McNeal, used this enduring parable to inspire and challenge those in attendance to go and do something to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” He got a good chuckle as he retold this story for us, reminding us that no one got help until somebody got off their donkey.

But he also got us thinking when he urged us to consider the ways that helping others is also a way to help ourselves. Sometimes we pass by people in need because we only consider the cost, but maybe if we got off our donkey, we’d find that helping others helps us too.

Sometimes we’re unsure if we want to get off our donkey. It can seem safer to stay put, keeps life less messy and we’ll get to where we’re going faster. But if we hear what Jesus is saying – those who love their neighbor will inherit eternal life – then staying on our donkey is actually bad for us. For Jesus, his invitation to get off our donkey and give mercy is a way to begin experiencing life with God now.

Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is the primary way we express our love for God and experience heaven on earth. We’ll know we’re ready to be with our merciful God in heaven when we’re getting off our donkey, putting our feet on the earth and getting our hands dirty in loving those we see in need – like Jesus did.

Reggie shared five questions for us at the Good Friday Breakfast as a way to help us hear what the merciful Lord is inviting us to do with him in our community:

1. What do I want to do to help others?
2. What behaviors will support the help I want to give?
3. What do I bring to the table?
4. What is my scorecard?
5. What do I need to learn?

We are all busy like the priest, temple-servant, and Samaritan, we all have places to go and things to do. But what breaks your heart? What catches your eye and compels you to get off your donkey to help somebody? What beliefs or behaviors might you want to start reconsidering so that you can be more helpful?

Have you taken stock of yourself – what are your talents and resources that you could use to really help others in need? What would a win look like for you and those you help?

And what don’t you know yet that is keeping you from getting off your donkey and helping yourself as you help others? Maybe reading Reggie McNeal’s book, Get Off Your Donkey: Help Somebody and Help Yourself is a great next step?

Or maybe you’d be interested in his book that we were giving away at the Good Friday Breakfast, Kingdom Come: Why We Must Give Up Our Obsession with Fixing the Church–and What We Should Do Instead – his reflections on the ways Christians can work together in our communities for the gospel of the kingdom of God that Christ Jesus proclaimed.

If you’re wanting to mature as a Christian and a leader in your community, then you’ll want to read this book by McNeal, Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders.

Sometimes what makes you a leader is being the first one to get off your donkey and help somebody. Sometimes what makes you a leader is taking the road less traveled, asking different questions, seeking a different kingdom.

May the faithfulness of God, the hopefulness of Christ Jesus, and the love of their Holy Spirit spur you on towards courageous mercy in your community.